EHRLICH, ABEL

EHRLICH, ABEL (1919–2004), composer and teacher. Born in Crantz, Germany, Ehrlich went to Zagreb to study with Vaclav Huml at the academy of music (1934–38). In 1939 he settled in Palestine and studied composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music with solomon rosowsky . He taught theory and composition in various music institutions such as the Oranim Teachers College and at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. His works before 1953 were influenced by Arab music. In the late 1950s he began to use serial procedures, after attending the courses of Stockhausen and Pousseur at Darmstadt in 1959. He was awarded the Lieberson Prize three times (1969, 1971, 1980), won the Israel Composers and Authors Association Prize in 1974, 1980, and 1994, the Israel Prime Minister's Award in 1990, the ACUM Prize for life achievement in 1994, and the Israel Prize for music in 1997. Ehrlich was one of the most prolific Israeli composers – he wrote more than 3,500 pieces and as a result appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most prolific contemporary composer. Among his early compositions are Bashrav for violin solo (1953) and Symphonic Bashrav for orchestra (1958), in which he explored the fusion of Near Eastern and Western musical elements. His later works include I Will Sing in Praise for chamber orchestra (1977); Will It Work? suite for guitar (1985); Enkhah Yode'a for youth choir and violin solo (1986); Our Modest Friend Avraham for chamber ensemble (1992); The Jubille, chamber opera in 16 scenes (1995); Another Exercise: Four Dreams: May 1997, for four tenors and chamber ensemble (1997); and many pieces for solo instruments. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grove online; A. Wolman and Y. Shaked, Abel Ehrlich (1995). (Israela Stein (2nd ed.)